Mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone® (iPhone is a registered trademark of the Apple Computer Company, located in Cupertina, state of California, USA or Blackberry® mobile device (Blackberry is a registered trademark of Research In Motion (RIM), located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), are becoming increasingly popular to perform conventional tasks while in a mobile environment. That is, these devices are being used to perform routine tasks such as accessing information, obtaining travel directions, or purchasing products and/or services remotely via an on-line or “cloud” network. These devices are loaded with dedicated application software such that the operator may select one from a variety of competing software applications to perform the specific task. Currently, on an iPhone mobile device, an operator may chose from any one of nearly ten-thousand mobile applications to perform an equal number of every-day tasks.
One such task, to which the present invention is directed, relates to mailing and/or shipping a particular parcel and/or article to a specific destination address. This task requires that the sender of an article/parcel identify the item to be shipped/delivered, determine the requisite shipping information, e.g., the weight, size or volume of the item, estimate the cost of shipping/delivery based upon the shipping information, identify the nearest or most convenient shipping location, i.e., the location for receipt of the item to be shipped/delivered, the selection of any special or value added services (e.g., the class of mail delivery, return receipt, date of delivery, etc.), and payment for the delivery services to be rendered. Conventionally, these tasks are occur at the location where the item is inducted for shipping/delivery, i.e., at a postal facility, however, more recently, some of these tasks may be performed in advance, i.e., before arriving at, or induction into, the mail distribution system. That is, on-line systems, i.e., systems residing on the Internet, are currently available to aid and/or simplify certain of these tasks, such as obtaining shipping information and/or an adhesive-backed shipping label for application to the item to be shipped/delivered.
While these on-line systems offer the ability to expedite mail delivery, the sender is still tasked with obtaining the requisite shipping information, e.g., the weight, size and/or volume of the item, to obtain an accurate/true representation of the item to be delivered/shipped. Currently, no systems are integrated with the current mail distribution systems to reliably, accurately and expeditiously combine shipping information with the cost of shipping/delivery to obtain the actual shipping/delivery cost of the item. Accordingly, no label, postage indicia, or other proof of payment, can be produced to enable shipping/delivery of the item within the construct of current mail distribution systems.
A need, therefore, exists for an on-line system which integrates shipping information with current delivery cost information to expedite the processing and delivery of an item to be shipped/delivered.